St Paul in Norwid’s work – a review (transl. by Tadeusz Karłowicz)

  • Agnieszka Komorowska Institute of Polish Literature, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń
Keywords: Piotr Marchewka; Paul of Tarsus; theology; study of literature; interdisciplinary study; Dwa męczeństwa; Salem; philosophy; Christianity; Bible; biblical studies; Romantic hero-martyr; apostles; biography; letter-writing; Corpus Paulinum

Abstract

The review is a look at the book Z romantycznych rodowodów biblijnych. Apostoł Paweł w twórczości Cypriana Norwida (From the Romantic Biblical Origins. St Paul the Apostle in Cyprian Norwid's Work) as an inter-disciplinary publication showing the author's great competence in all the problems he tackles, with theology and study of literature at the head. In the background the question appears about the method accepted by Piotr Marchewka, which may seem complicated to an average reader, but his style of shaping the text (the “case” one) is clear and harmonious enough to make the seemingly formal text a nice reading. Numerous references, digressions and penetrating analyses of Dwa męczeństwa (Two martyrdoms) and Salem consistently lead to the finale that is a convincing suggestion of an explanation of Norwid's fascination with the figure of St Paul.

Published
2020-05-05
Section
Reviews